Summary:

News media companies are transforming their business model by fusing the smart use of data analytics with the emerging economics of content, subscriber acquisition and retention, and advertising sales - in digital and print. This report looks at the data-fueled economic shift in strategy, content, audience acquisition and retention, and advertising. Best practices at The New York Times, Newsday, NRC Media, and Independent News & Media are included.

Key themes in this report:

• How the shift in strategy toward reader revenue is driving investments in customer relationships
• The emerging value propositions of digital content
• What works and doesn't work in pricing and packaging for subscriber acquisition and retention
• Leveraging subscriber data for advertising sales otherwise dominated by platforms

Who should read the report?

Executives at media companies charged with setting corporate strategy and deciding how to prioritise and apply real-time data analytics to business solutions.

Author:

Matt Lindsay, president of Mather Economics

Detailed overview:

“Monetising Audience Data: Media's New Business Model” takes us from behind the curtains of strategy sessions and data warehouses into the realm of practical application:

• What does an audience-focused, data-fueled media company start to look like?
• How should we inject data and predictive analytics into solving everyday business problems facing media companies?
• How are peer media companies using real-time data analytics to optimise their subscription sales and retention operations?

This new INMA report aims to answer some of these questions — and then some.

Aided by practical examples by The New York Times and Newsday in the United States, NRC Media in The Netherlands, and Independent News & Media in Ireland, we begin to see the new influence of data and research on strategy, subscriber acquisition and retention, and print advertising sales.

Author Matt Lindsay, president of Mather Economics, shares what the experiences across many companies are unveiling for him: That media is shifting from an advertising focus to an audience focus and, aided by technology, is subsequently shifting from a one-size-fits-all strategy to one based on personalised communications and intense customer relationships.

While much of the news industry has focused on the backbone of data analytics — data scientists and analysts, data warehousing, data hygiene — Lindsay takes the data and puts it into usable, measurable frameworks.

What emerges from the report is the beginnings of the modern media company with long-term plans based on metrics — and a sustainable business model in the era of digital platforms and social media.